Wind vanes of one kind or another have been known for too long to recount. They range from banners or flags to tell-tale ribbons that follow the direction of the wind. Airports use wind socks that are more steady and more visable from a distance. More sophisticated mechanisms employ a vertical flat surface of some kind--sometimes with a moveable device driven by the wind--behind the pivot point. These are all fine in the daytime, but are of little value at night, unless they are lit by a flood light from below.
The problems of wind vanes on sailing craft is more demanding. It is desireable, if not essential, to have the apparent wind indicated in a steady, accurate manner at all times and under all points of sailing. Here the common pennants or tell-tales maybe satisfactory for daytime sailing, but are of little or no value at night. A mast-head fly, or wind direction indicator, even though it should be more stable, accurate, and effective, is, similarly, of little values at night.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a solid, well-bearinged, easily-visible, mast-head fly for sailboats. It is a further object of this invention to provide a mast-head fly, or wind indicator, that has a translucent surface that is illuminated from the inside to be visible from the deck at night or under conditions of poor visibility. It is a further object of this invention to provide an illuminateable mast-head wind indicator that has an easily-identifiable form to quickly and accurately indicate the direction of the apparent wind at night.